South Shore Natural Science Center to host annual Corn Festival

With fall fast approaching, a New England tradition will continue this weekend as the South Shore Natural Science Center hosts its 41st Annual Corn Festival Saturday, Sept. 16 and Sunday, Sept. 17 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Kernal’s Kitchen, which features the science center’s famous corn chowder, will be front and center. Hay and pony rides, live music, nature walks, pumpkin decorating and face painting are some of the many other activities at the event.

The corn festival was started in 1977 as both a fundraiser and as a way to put the science center on the map, Director Chris Jacobs said. Due to the center’s close proximity to Plymouth, focusing on corn’s agricultural importance was a natural for the center to focus on.

“A lot of people don’t necessarily associate Massachusetts with corn, but from a historical perspective and with it being on the current day agricultural landscape, it made sense,” said Jacobs. “For example, the science center used to be farm land and if you go out in the woods, you can see the old furrows from the corn rows that were here. If you drive through Massachusetts, you will see a lot of corn being grown either for feed or for human consumption. It’s really part of our history and landscape.”

By looking through old pictures and information from the early years of the festival, the biggest events for the first few years revolved around pow-wows, the Green Mountain Brigade from Vermont and a bean hole dinner. After digging holes in the ground in the early part of the day, coals would be placed along with bean pots. They would be removed at night at dinnertime for the festival-goer’s enjoyment.

The event quickly became “commercialized,” according to Jacobs, with the addition of bounce houses and balloon twisting, but their goal is to bring it back closer to its roots. It became a two-day event five years ago, rain or shine, with music, corn shucking contests and pony rides.

“We’ve had historical interpreters and bringing some of the traditional crafters in,” she said. “We are continuing to add some of the cultural and historical aspects that make up the fair. The corn festival really celebrates the natural and cultural history of the fall harvest in New England.”

On Saturday, Natural Born Fools will perform at 10 a.m., followed by RC Bevans & Company at noon and Karen Woodhall and Dave Jackson are scheduled for 10 a.m. Sunday, with Fred Meltzer at taking the stage at noon and Tall Richard and the Night Owls closing out the weekend at 2 p.m.

For more information about the event and the center itself, visit southshorenaturalsciencecenter.org. Tickets are $7 for members and $10 for non-members. Children under 2 are free. Admission includes most activities. The South Shore Natural Science Center is located at 48 Jacobs Lane, Norwell.